Tropicality at its Finest

Hi all,

It's so great being lazy on vacation. Sleeping in, lounging around, doing whatever we want... ahhhhh. We did leave the condo a few times, though:

On Wednesday we went to the Kauai museum in Lihue. T's a history buff, so it was right up his alley. They allowed photos, so I played around with my new camera a lot, which was right up MY alley. :)

We also drove ourselves around the East side of the island and explored some more. More waterfalls, more scenic views of the valley and the Waimea River. We kept talking about Jurassic Park, because of course it was filmed here. Once we got back to the condo, we popped it in the DVD player and watched it! Every rental condo must come with its own "claim-to-fame" copy.

Yesterday we went on a cultural culinary tour in the Waipa Valley. We learned a lot about Taro, and got to see the fields close up and learn about everything from planting, to tending, to harvesting, to preparing & cooking, to eating! We tried Taro in several different ways. My favourite was the dessert type that they mixed with coconut milk, brown sugar, and butter. It was yum. :)

The woman who led our tour was SO informative. She knew so much, and was passionate about bringing Hawaiian culture back to the people (locals, and visitors). It was a great experience (and of course I went camera crazy!). My only complaint is that it was too long. If they want to keep my attention for five hours, they have to feed me more regularly! Haha. We did have an amazing lunch at the end: organic chicken, vegetables, poi (taro paste), kim chee cucumbers (too spicy for me), kale salad, and iced tea. It was pretty good. Then came dessert: lilikoi cheesecake (passion fruit). It was the best thing we'd eaten so far on the trip!

In keeping with the Hawaiian culture theme of the day, we then went Hanalei for a guitar concert. But not any old guitar concert. This type is called "slack key" guitar which is named so because when the Hawaiians were first given guitars, they did not know anything about key, or notes, or chords, or anything. So they just made up their own tunings and went from there. Also, because of the scarcity of instruments, they learned how to play rhythm with their thumb, while their fingers of the same hand played the melody/harmony. That's crazy! Anyways, it was beautiful guitar music and we are coming home with a couple CD's.

However, it was on Thursday that we've had our best experience so far. We headed to Princeville on the North Side of the island to a ranch. We went horseback riding through amazing landscape with killer views. My horse's name was Poi, and T rode Makai. T easily had the biggest horse of the bunch, and it was a stubborn one! Poi was stubborn too, but I eventually showed him who was boss (the teacher in me!). I'm just glad he didn't show ME "natural consequences." Haha.

It was amazing. We rode down to the edge of (I can only describe it as) a jungle, where we hiked down to our own private waterfall. Swimming in there was delectable. It was truly paradise. Plus, it had been stinkin' hot, and it was perfect. Perrrrrrfect! Then we had a picnic, and relaxed some more. Ahhhh. Then we hiked out of there, including a mini rock-climb which T scoffed at because it was so short and easy. Then, a horseback ride to the start. It was a super highlight, and so far, one of the best things I've done on this trip, maybe ever!

Gosh I feel spoiled.

Today we are going on a sunset cruise, and we are thinking about doing a river cruise as well. Tomorrow we leave Kauai and meet up with friends on Maui!

Cheers and love,
E & T

Aloha From Kauai!

Hello everyone,

T and I have arrived in Hawaii! We made it unscathed, despite the plane being filled with 20 school-aged girl guides (there was lots of giggling), and a couple of small kids in the row behind us who were coughing and sneezing into the backs of our heads. :P

Our first stop was to pick up our rental car. This was actually our second stop, too, since we never actually left the airport with it - we had to exchange it for a model that didn't make a thunk-thunk-thunk noise as we drove around. For our inconvenience, they upgraded us to a "full-size" vehicle. Turns out "full-size" is exactly the same as "mid-size." T insists we did get an upgrade though; we went from a Chevy Malibu to a Nissan Altima. Whatever...

Arriving to a strange place and trying to find your accommodation in the dark has its challenges, but we figured it out. By the time we got to our condo, we were starving. Since when don't they give you a meal on a flight over 6 hours?! Also of note, no more TV sets in the backs of seats - now, you pay $$ to rent tablets for the flight.

Anyways, we found a grocery store that was closing in 5 minutes (11pm here, 2am at home!) and we raced around getting groceries. I got sandwich stuff, fruit, & yogurt, and T got milk, OJ, AJ, & beer. Of course. :P

We woke up this morning to two roosters trying to prove to each other whose voice was louder. We named them Isaiah and Thomas. Isaiah won. We soon discovered that chickens and roosters are running all over the island. They especially like tourist parking lots, presumably because they get fed there. Many cute baby chicks following mom around! We really wish they wouldn't congregate underneath the car though. Nobody wants a smushed chick.

T and I started our day by going for a walk around Poipu Beach. Turns out we booked our place in a really great spot. The weather is gorgeous and it's warm, but not too warm. Lovely. We had lunch at a beach house on the deck overlooking the ocean. We were enjoying our drinks and meals while watching whales breach in the distance. Pretty awesome.

Then we went for a drive around the South and West part of Kauai. It's no wonder they chose this place to film Jurassic Park. So green and lush, and mists/fogs roll in from the sea and transform an area in a matter of minutes. I got pics to prove it! (I also got lots of pics of birds. Chickens and roosters mainly.)

We visited Waimea Canyon, which apparently is the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific" or something like that. Having been to the GC, I can say this one isn't as big but it is just gorgeous and also very impressive. We also visited a Russian fort, a Captain Cook monument, an ice cream shop, more scenic lookouts, and the Spouting Horn park, known for its blowholes which make eerie growling noises.

Homemade dinner tonight. Tomorrow we will explore again!
Cheers and love,
E & T